~ Experiencing the west through images and words…

I was able to put together a video of clips filmed during the Horsemanship phase of competition in the Miss Rodeo Colorado pageant that was held at the 2016 Greeley Stampede.

It is a basic compilation of clips filmed while the contestants went through their reining patterns, as well as the rail section of the contest. My wife and I appreciated all the hospitality and help of the Miss Rodeo Colorado committee members, Miss Rodeo Colorado 2016 (Madelaine Mills), and the eight contestants vying for the title of Miss Rodeo Colorado 2017.

Have a great day and don’t let your horse come home without you!

Lincoln Rogers

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(Note: This is the original, unedited version of the article I wrote up regarding the horsemanship competition phase of the Miss Rodeo Colorado pageant that took place at the Greeley Stampede arena on June 29, 2016. I was dissatisfied with the cutting and rewriting choices made by the editor of the magazine to which it was submitted, so I wanted to post my original story of the event for people to read. MANY THANKS to all the Miss Rodeo Colorado contestants and committee members for making our experience in covering the event so enjoyable.)

The personality and poise of each Miss Rodeo Colorado (MRC) is on full display during the two-hundred-fifty-plus days she spends on the road meeting and greeting fans of all ages, but a big part of how she becomes the state’s rodeo queen comes from her ability to ride.

Every year, the MRC competition is held during the Greeley Stampede, and all eight finalists vying to be 2017’s Colorado queen showed up bright and early on Wednesday, June 29th to test their horsemanship skills inside the Stampede’s arena in front of a trio of judges who kept track from the stands. Although horsemanship is just one part of the overall competition, Wednesday morning’s mounted tests were important to every MRC hopeful.

“Horsemanship (points are) equally weighted with personality and appearance points,” said Tami Inskeep, MRC Secretary and member of the executive committee. “The only difference is you earn points in personality and appearance in every event (speeches, interviews, appearances, etc.) but you can only earn the horsemanship points during this specific event.”

To test their depth of equine skills, fresh horses were supplied by Colorado’s Sombrero Ranches and each contestant drew from a jar to discover which horse they would ride for the reining pattern section of the event. It didn’t stop there, however. The reining pattern section would be followed by a rail section of riding, similar to competing in a show ring, and each MRC hopeful was required to ride a different mount in that event. The ability to ride new and different horses is an important part of being a rodeo queen.

“For most rodeos, when the girls travel, they are not on their own horse,” Inskeep explained. “So that is the point of having eight horses they have never seen in this competition. They will be riding them for the first time today.”

The best way to discover what each contestant was thinking before the horsemanship competition was to ask the current Miss Rodeo Colorado, Madelaine Mills, about her experience in 2015.

“Coming up to the pageant, I practiced a lot,” said Mills. “I rode as many horses as I could get on. Here, these girls will get on horses they have never been on before, and as Miss Rodeo Colorado, that is pretty much what you do at every rodeo. So these girls have been riding as many horses as they can get on. Sombrero Ranches does a great job of bringing quality horses for these girls. They had great horses for us, last year.”

At the end of every participant’s reining pattern, they each rode to edge of the arena where the trio of judges was located. Part of displaying horsemanship skill is dismounting and mounting, so the contestants would dismount and stand with their horse while they answered equine and tack related questions. Handling questions and remaining poised while an unfamiliar horse nuzzles your hat or tries to walk away seemed to be part of the challenge. After finishing the question and answer session, each contestant then mounted up and exited the arena on horseback.

Shortly after the last contestant finished her reining pattern and follow up questions, it was time to get a new horse and get back inside the arena. Only this time, four MRC hopefuls rode at the same time for the rail section of the event. In a show ring style of riding, the contestants all walked, trotted or loped their horses at the request of the judges. When the first four were finished, the final four contestants took their turn inside the arena to do the same thing.

The horsemanship section then finished with a bang, as the contestants each galloped a fast Queen’s Run, smiling and waving, in front of the judges as the third and final ride of the event. Several MRC hopefuls described the Queen’s Run as their favorite part of the event, and it was made even more exciting when contestant Mary Oulliber’s (Sedalia, CO) horse decided to buck and jump almost the entire way. It couldn’t prevent her from smiling and waving, however.

“I was really just trying to keep his head up so he couldn’t get it down and buck,” said Oulliber afterward. “And then I had to end up going to two hands and say, no, we’re not doing this today, and then go back to waving. It was interesting, but actually it was a lot of fun.”

All the contestants concurred with how much they enjoyed the morning’s competition.

“It was absolutely fantastic,” said Sara Coblentz of Gunnison, CO. “I thought it was really a great opportunity for everybody to get to ride three different horses.”

Everyone also agreed it was nerve-wracking.

“Yes!” they said in unison about being nervous throughout the morning. The laughter among the group as they said it showed the camaraderie they developed over the last week.

“It was a lot of fun,” said Evergreen’s Sierra Knodle. “I love all these ladies, so much. It was really neat getting to ride with them, which, for most of us, is our favorite thing to do. The horses were great and really well trained. We’re really thankful they brought them today.”

The horsemanship section was just one part of the Miss Rodeo Colorado pageant, which was slated to wrap up with a coronation of the 2017 queen on Friday, July 01, 2016. You can find complete 2016 pageant results at the Miss Rodeo Colorado Facebook page

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It comes in all shapes and sizes. Beauty in nature is a source of great inspiration in our every day lives, or it can be, if we allow it. It doesn’t have to be a grand scene of snow-capped mountains or sun-kissed ocean beaches. Inspiration from nature can be found in the small, the normal, the “mundane,” if you will. But only if you allow it entrance.

Inspiration tends to hit me where my faith resides. When I am inspired, it typically sends me to the place where God touches my soul and stands knocking on the door of my heart. I was inspired today, so I created a piece of inspirational art for my online gallery.

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Ivy Conrado currently sits in second place in the Women’s Professional Barrel Racing standings as of today (April 28, 2016).

The following image is Ivy riding Tibbie during the championship round of rodeo at the 2016 National Western Stock Show in Denver, CO (January 24, 2016). They are turning the second barrel on their way to nailing down 2nd place in the overall standings at the prestigious rodeo.

Colorado barrel racer Ivy Conrado got the home state crowd cheering during her run in the championship round of rodeo at the 2016 National Western Stock Show in Denver, CO (jan 24, 2016).

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Yep, that’s him in action! Whether he is entertaining us, chewing the barn apart, bending the rails of his horse pen, leaning all over our fences, or anything else, it is always something.

A few days ago, he came hobbling into the barn after being out in the pasture and it was clear there was something majorly wrong with his left hind leg. After inspection, I noticed an object protruding from the bottom of his hoof. A pair of pliers and a few interesting attempts later, this thing came out…

Yeah, that’s the tip of a deer antler that managed to pierce the sole of his hoof and embed itself 1.5 inches deep, straight into the sole. Poor guy. Freak occurrence, of course. One you would never see coming.

But that’s life. There are always “things you never see coming.” What is most important is how you deal with those things.

Along those lines, there have been some things going on in my writing and photography world that took me by surprise. As I watch our horse heal up and take it all in stride (pun intended, I suppose), I’m going to learn a lesson from him and do the same. (Proverbs 3:5-6 has some thoughts along those lines)

Always double check your cinch and have a great day!

Lincoln Rogers

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Thanks for taking time to stop by my blog, which I am reviving and creatively going to rebrand as “Lincoln’s Thinkin’s.” And to think I didn’t even have to pay a Madison Avenue P.R. firm to come up with that catchy title.

Boggles the mind, doesn’t it?

Life sometimes has a way of getting away from a person, but I’m planning on revving this blog back up and continuing to fill it with thoughts, interviews, stories and photography related to western, rural, cowboy/cowgirl and equestrian related places, events, people and even other topics that pique my curiosity.

The championship round of rodeo at the 2014 National Western Stock Show in Denver, Colorado was full of action and enthusiastic fans in the stands (a near capacity crowd of 8,279). Here is my story and some photos from the event that have been published in The Fence Post magazine.